What to Plant When for Your Region - Monthly Sowing Guide for Vegetables and Herbs

What to Plant When in Your Region - Monthly Guide for Vegetables & Herbs

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Why Grow Your Own Vegetables

Homegrown vegetables are fresh and taste much better than the vegetables you buy in the shops. Vegetables have the best flavour and texture if they are picked and eaten the same day, or within one or two days of picking. Growing your own also provides a great interest and you can share or sell your excess produce with family and friends. Seeds are relatively cheap and once your garden is established you can collect and save your own seeds.

Why Knowing Your Climatic Zone is Important

The germination of seeds and the growth of plants is governed by many climate related issues. This includes temperatures during winter and summer and the day/night variations. Frost is also a factor as frost will kill many plants. The key climate attributes also includes the length of the growing season, the amount of rainfall and humidity and wind. Various methods have been devised to divide the areas within continents into zone that share key climatic conditions. The most well-known is the Plant Hardiness Zones developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as basic guide for gardening and landscaping. This is based on defining 26 zones by the average annual extreme minimum temperatures based on historic records. The zones are defined using 10-degree F zone ranges.

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones for USA. Source: Public Domain

What Plants to Sow and Grow, and When to Plant Them

Various plants are biologically adapted to grow in particular seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. So, as well as a suitable climate for determining where various vegetables can be grown, you need to know the season that is suitable for each vegetable species.

You can loosely divide vegetables into three groups based on their growing season.

Cool Season Vegetables: Grow best when temperatures are between 10-20 degrees C or even lower. These vegetables include: cauliflower, onions, peas, beans, broad beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, spinach and turnips.

Intermediate Season Vegetables: These are best between temperatures of 15-25 degrees. These vegetables include: celery, leeks, lettuce, radish, beetroot, carrot, parsnip and silver beet.

Warm Season Vegetables: Are grown best when temperatures are above 20 degrees C. These vegetables include: beans, sweet potato, tomato, cucumbers, zucchini, capsicum, eggplant, potato, sweet corn, pumpkins, squash.

How Plant What When helps Home Gardeners

This site has been developed to help home gardeners by identifying the climatic regions in various countries, using the best local classifications. Sowing calendars and lists of plants to sow in each month in each regions have been developed to assist you. You start by selecting your country. Then, you select the climatic region within which you live. This can be done using maps and our convenient climate finder using the major cities and towns nearby. Then, you can see and print a sowing calendar for your region and monthly list of plants to sow. The layout has been simplified to work well on mobile devices. The information is concise and easy to use. The site also includes comprehensive information about each of the vegetables listed.

Where to Grow Your Vegetables

Position – Vegetables grow best in areas that are sunny for most of the day. Some shelter from wind is also preferred.

Soil - Vegetables grow best in good, rich and fertile sandy soils that have excellent drainage and good structure. Regularly adding well-rotted organic matter (such as fertilizers and compost) will keep the soil productive. Plants that grow continuously without checks when soils dry out or the roots get restricted will have high yields.

Nutrients - Vegetables need to be supplied with adequate and regular supplies of nutrients, either in fertilizers of via nutrient supplements (mineral or organic fertilizers).

Soil pH - This is level of acidity or alkalinity in your soil. Most vegetables grow best in soils with pH levels of 6.0 to 7.0. The pH can be adjusted by adding lime, calcium carbonate or other chemicals before planting. Regular checks of the pH level of your soil is recommended. You may need to match the pH to the vegetable's requirements. Some plants need more or less acidity than others.

Mulching - Mulching on the soil surface around the plants as they grow is recommended, preferably with an organic mulch. This will help suppress weeds, retain moisture, reduce temperature fluctuations throughout the day and night, and will help maintain a good soil structure. You can also compost organic matter in trenches, directly in your garden, using plant debris, cuttings and leaves, and food waste from your kitchen.

Watering - Water thoroughly to ensure the entire root systems of the plants are wet through. Watering thoroughly, every day or so, is more effective than light sprinkling every day. But, check your moisture levels frequently, especially in hot or windy weather, to absolutely prevent your plants from reaching wilting point. Your plans will have their growth checked, or may never recover if they are dried out. But, likewise, do not over water your plants as this will wash away nutrients, choke the roots and may kill your plants.

Crop Rotation and Companion Plantings - Try to avoid growing the same crops successively in the same spot in the garden. This helps prevent the build-up of soil diseases and pests. Companion plantings often helps plants to grow and reduces the need for insecticides.

Pest and Diseases - Check your garden regularly for pest and diseases. Early intervention is preferred to 'nip the problem in the bud'.

Companion Planting Guide

For an excellent guide for Companion Plantings for Vegetables see => Good and Bad Plant Bedfellows - Best Plant Companions and Foes for Vegetables

Happy gardening!!

Disclaimer: The PlantWhatWhen vegetable planting guide is only designed for use as a very general reference for home gardening purposes. It is not to be used for farming, markets or commercial activities of any kind whatsoever. We take absolutely no responsibility for the accuracy and adequacy of the information provided on this site. We recommend that you consider your local climate, weather patterns and conditions when deciding what and when to plant in your home garden. It's entirely your own decision. Happy Gardening and Best Wishes!

What to Plant When in Your Locality